The two fires, referred to as the San Gabriel Complex fire, are now 15 percent contained. No structures have been damaged by either blaze.

The first fire ignited near Morris Dam after a pickup fell over the side of Highway 39. While they have a possible name for the driver who was killed, coroner’s officials have not released a name and plan to use dental records to identify the body. The flames from the burning vehicle started the Reservoir fire, which has burned 1,200 acres.

The other fire, known as the Fish fire, started near Fish Canyon in Duarte and has charred 3,700 acres. The cause of the Fish fire remains under investigation.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Cmdr. David Halm announced Wednesday morning that some Duarte residents in 534 homes, who previously had to evacuate, could return home. Residents who live north of Royal Oaks Drive, east of Greenback Avenue and West El Encanto Parkway, were allowed to return around noon. He said other residents in Duarte and Azusa who were also displaced cannot return home yet.

Returning evacuees need to show ID. They also can bring back their dogs, cats and other small animals. But Halm said RVs, trailers and livestock such as horses won’t be allowed in because the fire department needs to be able to operate its vehicles on neighborhood streets in case a fire breaks out.

“Please remember that security will remain a high priority with the deputies who are there at the barricades,” Halm said. “There’s obviously a lot of people trying to get back in the area so please have patience with those deputies. They’ve been out there working very hard to keep those homes safe. I cannot be prouder of the job that they’ve done out there.”

The two fires led to the evacuation of 850 homes in Duarte and Azusa.

“We have a cooling, moistening trend and that’s expected over the San Gabriel Complex due to the increased onshore flow,” said Mike Wakoski, incident commander for the Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3.

He said there would be stronger winds Wednesday that could push the fire. Wakoski said gusts of 20 to 25 mph would be possible Wednesday afternoon and evening.

“The crews are out on the line with the engines, air tankers and helicopters working the fire this morning and starting to make good progress,” Wakoski said Wednesday.

He said some of the concerns they have include the U.S. Forest Service infrastructures in the camps in the area, Highway 39 and the San Gabriel Wilderness in the National Monument area.

David Richardson, chief deputy with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said significant threats still exist.

“As you can see, day three, we still have a great amount of smoke up in the sky. As the day goes on, I’m sure that will continue to increase,” Richardson said.

“On behalf of our Fire Chief Daryl Osby, I want to reiterate to all of our community members out there that we are aware, we are sensitive to the fact of those who have been evacuated and are currently out of their homes. We’re working in conjunction with our incident commanders to ensure that we can, when it is safe, repopulate those areas that have been impacted by fire,” he said.

Officials don’t have an estimated date of containment for the twin fires at this point. As of Wednesday morning, there were 1,404 firefighters and support personnel assigned to the fire, 212 fire engines, 11 helicopters, 18 hand crews, eight bulldozers and nine water tenders.

Ruby Gonzales started working for the company in 1991. Since then she has written about cities, school districts, crimes, cold cases, courts, the San Gabriel River, local history, anime, insects, forensics and the early days of the Internet when people still referred to it as the "information superhighway." Her current beat includes breaking news, crimes and courts for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star News and Whittier Daily News. When not in crime reporter mode, she frequents the remaining bookstores in the San Gabriel Valley, haunts craft stores or gets dragged to eateries by a relative who is a foodie.